Apparatus for the industrial culture of ferments, yeasts, microbes, and the like



5 192 1,623,896 Apnl 7 c. VIGREUX APPARATUS FOR THE INDUSTRIAL CULTURE 0F FERMENTS,

YEASTS, MICROBES. AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 29. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 1 I623 896 Apnl 927 c. VIGREUX APPARATUS FOR THE INDUSTRIAL CULTURE 0F FERHENTS,

YEASTS, MICROBES, AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 29. 1924 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 5, 1927.

UNITED STATES- I 1,623,896 PATENT OFFJCE.

CHARLES VIGREUX, or BALESMES, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR To ETABLIssEuENTs POULENC FBEBES, F PARIS, FRANCE.

.APPARATUS non THE INDUSTRIAL CULTURE OF FERMENTS, YEASTS, MICROBES, AND

THE LIKE.

Application filed February 29, 1924, Serial No. 696,093, and in France March 17, 1923.

Up to the present time it has only been feasible to perform certain operations relative to cultures of ferments, yeasts, microbes and the like by the use of vessels which are of greater or less size but are in all 021368 considered and employed as individual units.

. Due to these circumstances, as well as to the size of the apparatus and the manipulations required by the operating methods in m use with same, the treatment of the culture;

becomes long and difficult as well as expensive, and is hence little-adapted for industrial practice. My invention relates to an apparatus which on the contrary enables the treatment of a greater or less number of vessels to be carried out at the same time. A constructional form of the said apparatus, which is given solely by way of example will be hereinafter described. In this device, the operations can be readily observed when in progress, and all the manipulations such as filling, seeding and the like are performed by mechanical means; the cultures are protected against all contamination, and I am enabled to provide the most suitable temperatures and atmosphere for their development.

The appended drawings show the said embodiment of my invention.

Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively a vertical axial cross-section and a horizontal section of the apparatus, upon the line ab of Fig. 1. Figures 3 and 4.- show details of the spiders on a larger scale.

The said apparatus is in fact a sort of adrying chamber consisting of a cylindrical receptacle 1 having a door 2 which is secured by means of flanges, straps or the like. I Special packing 3 will be employed if necessary for the closing i. e. in cases where high pressure is used. The door is provided with lifting handles 4: as well as the sight-holes 5 and the lamps 6 for observing the rate of progress or like conditions of the culture, the thermometers 7 indicate the temperature of the interior. 'At the top and bottom of the receptacle are the conduits 8 and 9 for the admission or discharge of suitable fluids such as air, steam or gas. For example, I may circulate an inert gas or air at 120 in order to sterilize the chamber, or I may evacuate the gases which are produced'by the reactions and which could not be prevented from sort between the support 10 and the tray 15 a accumulating in individual culture flasks,

and whose presence in excess would act against the proper operation of the process by either augmenting or reducing its duration.

Around the internal wall of the said receptacle are disposed the hollow supports 10 in .a suitable numberpf equidistant tiers, withinwhich are circulated either a hot fiuid (by the conduits 1112) or a cold fluid (by the conduit 13-14), in order to regulate the temperature of the chamber or otherwise to produce in each tier the proper temperature for the vessels supported by the same.

Upon each of the supports 10 is disposed a flat circular vessel or tray 15 whose height will depend upon the most suitable thickness for any given culture; said trays are made of the proper material according to circumstances, and comprise a flanged orifice 16 for the free circulation of the fluid within the chamber.

The said trays may be given a considerable diameter, and it is generally indispensable that theculture should have exactly the same thickness at all points and hence I may inso spider 17 made of strong material, Fig. 4, and provided with handles 17 for manipulating the same. These spiders support the trays against sagging at the center, and if desired suitable leveling means may be used in order to regulate the horizontal position of the said trays.

Into the said chamber whichis closed and Ipreliminarily sterilized as above set forth I rst introduce the culture medium and subsequentl the cultures themselves, such as spores, erments or the like .i. e. I proceed in fact with the seeding or propagation of the medium. To this end I place upon the sup ports 10 the spiders 18 having three or more arms, Fig. 3; to the said spiders are suspended by the hooks 19 the concentric tubular rings 20 and 21 serving for the above-mentioned supply, the said rings having the substances delivered thereto from outside vessels through the conduits 22, 23 and discharging downwardly upon the entire surface of the medium on the tray obviously, the cross-section of the said chamber may be other than circular, and the trays 15 will have the corresponding outline.

The operation of the apparatus is evident, and is on the other hand adapted to the particular end to be attained.

For example, the trays are disposed upon their supports, and the door is closed. I then proceed with a dry sterilization by a current of hot air, thus avoiding all individual operations which always require a long time to carry out and are also uncertain. The apparatus is cooled by the circulation through the conduits and the hollow supports. The culture medium is then introduced into the sterilized trays which are out of all reach of for cleaning the vessels: As will be observed, the operation is now much simplified and its duration greatly reduced, thus entering the field of industrial practice, which is in fact the precise object of the said apparatus. Obviously the details may be modified at will, and 'for instance the entire device might be cooled by suitable means other than those disclosed.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

1. In culture developing apparatus of the class described, the combination of a receptacle, a tray supported therein, and separate culture and culture medium distributing conduits disposed over thetray in aseries of concentric circles and adapted to uniformly discharge fluent material onto said tray from the interior of said conduits.

2. In culture developing apparatus of the class described, the combination of a receptacle, a tray sup orted therein, a series of distributing con uits concentrically arranged over the tray and adapted to deliver fluent material onto the tray, and supply conduits extending into the receptacle and communicating with the respective concentric conduits for delivering thereto the said material to be discharged onto the tray.

3. In culture developing apparatus ot' the class described, the combination of a cabinet, a series of trays arranged in superposed relation therein, supports on the inner wall of the cabinet for said trays, said supports constituting annular conduits adapted to receive a tem erature controlling medium, means for de ivering to each of the trays at different points treating and to be treated media, and means for suspending each of said last named means over a tray.

4. In apparatus of the class described, a culture cabinet, a series of trays arranged in superposed relation in said cabinet, spaced supports for said trays forming annular conduits extending about the inner wall thereof and adapted to receive a temperature controlling medium, concentrically arranged distributing conduits disposed over each of the trays for discharging onto said trays treating and to be treated media, hanging means coacting with a tray support and extending over a tray for suspending one of said concentric conduits over a tray, and means for supplying media to said concentric conduits extending through the wall ot said cabinet into communication with the conduits.

5. A culture cabinet of the class described having circulation openings in the walls thereof, trays supported in said cabinet in superposed relation, means for distributing to each of said trays media for treating and to be treated, a spider support for said last named means and from which said means is suspended, said spider supports coactiug with the central portion of-a tray for sustaining the latter, said trays having circulation openings therethrough, and means extending into the cabinet for supplying the materials to the distributing means.

CHARLES V-IGREUX. 

